Treating Reflux With Diet

A small study has found that a plant-based diet is just as effective as proton pump inhibitors in treating laryngopharyngeal reflux, or LPR.

LPR is a disease in which stomach acid comes up into the throat to the level of the laryngopharynx. It is not the same as gastro-esophageal reflux, or GERD, which involves a backflow of stomach acid into the lower esophagus.

The scientists used an index that measures severity of symptoms — excess throat mucus, heartburn and others — on a zero to 45-point scale.

In the P.P.I. group, 54 percent achieved a clinically significant six-point reduction on the index, compared with 63 percent for the diet cohort.

“If you think you have LPR, you should do a diet-based approach, instead of initiating these drugs that have potential side effects,” said the lead author, Dr. Craig H. Zalvan, chief of otolaryngology at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.